Question regarding Painkiller sets...

[slapnutz]

I've notice quite a few people here prefer to not go with a matching set when it comes to some pickups such as the Painkiller.

Its usually Painkiller in the bridge and then something like Cold Sweat or Miracle Man in the neck. Would anyone mind sharing their thoughts on why they prefer these combinations insteads? Do they find something lacking in the PK neck or is it too harsh, simply for more variety...etc..


Btw, is the difference in characteristic between a Warpig and Painkiller the same on a Mahogany body as opposed to basswood? (bridge pos)

Cheers.

[Antag]

In my case, I found the PK neck too powerful & aggressive to get a nice clean sound alongside my other guitars.

It's not that I dislike the PK neck - it's possibly the best pickup for neck leads (especially if you sweep pick), but I use my neck pickup for clean sounds much more than for leadwork.  My favourite is probably the Holy Diver, so if my amp's clean channel settings are dialled in for a nice tone with the HD, the PK just sounds like a foghorn in comparison :lol:

I prefer the balance, versatility & response of a Cold Sweat or VHII neck matched with a high output ceramic bridge humbucker.  JMHO, YMMV etc...

[MDV]

The PK neck is my favourite neck (alongside the EMG 60  :oops: ), it shreds like a muthafukka, has big fat bell chime cleans, is very precise without being 'spiky'. Great pickup.

[Jonny]

I have a matching set and agree with MDV, it's awesome.

[pagan7]

I agree with the previous couple of postings - Painkillers are my fave pups of all time (though I have yet to try C - Pigs  :P ) but I think they work best if the guitar has seperate tone and volume controls for each pup so you can balance them against each other - and my fave mod - switchable tone capacitors which provide for a subtle but noticable spectrum change - especially with the pups switched out of phase.